Raw Chicken Pet Food: Necks, Backs and Cages

The cuts

• Chicken backs. The backbone with the meat left on it after the legs and breasts are cut away. A meaty, bony piece, often used as a base for raw meals.
• Chicken necks. Small and bony, with soft bones that are easy to chew when raw. Often given whole to dogs, or ground for cats.
• Chicken cages. Also called frames or carcasses: the rib cage and breastbone left after the breast meat is removed.
• Organs and other cuts. Hearts, gizzards and livers add nutrients that muscle meat and bone do not.

Raw only. Never feed cooked chicken bones: cooking makes them brittle, and they can splinter. Choose a piece sized for your pet and stay with it while it eats.

Before you feed raw

• Bones and meat alone are not a complete diet. A raw diet also needs the right balance of organs, calcium, vitamins and minerals. A diet balanced for your own pet by a veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist is the safest way to feed homemade food every day.
• Raw chicken can carry germs. Salmonella and E. coli have been found in raw pet food and in the raw meats used in homemade diets, and they can make both pets and people sick.
• Public health advice. The Public Health Agency of Canada does not recommend feeding pets raw food or treats. It advises that adults over 65, pregnant people, children 5 and under, and people with weakened immune systems should not handle raw pet food. See Raw pet food safety on Canada.ca.

Talk to your veterinarian before you switch, especially for a puppy, a kitten or a pet with a medical condition.

Handling raw pet food safely

• Thaw it on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a sealed container. Thaw only what you need, and do not re-freeze leftovers.
• Keep it away from where your own food is stored and prepared, and out of reach of young children.
• Use separate dishes and utensils for your pet, and wash them separately. Clean and sanitize counters and anything else the raw food touched.
• Pick up the bowl when your pet is done and throw out what is left.
• Wash your hands with soap and water after feeding, playing with your pet or cleaning up after it.

Our guide to the safe handling of chicken covers the same habits in your own kitchen.

Where to buy raw chicken for pets near Bradford

Necks, backs and frames are not always on display, so ask. A local butcher or a farm that sells its own chicken can often set them aside for you. In and around Bradford West Gwillimbury:

• The Simcoe County Farm Fresh guide lists farms, markets and farm-gate stores across Simcoe County.
• The York Farm Fresh guide map covers the farms just south of us in York Region.

Buying for your pet? Say so. Some cuts sold for people are seasoned or brined, which is not what you want in a pet’s bowl.

Cericola Farms’ raw pet food

• We understood that healthy food extends beyond our customers to their families, pets included. For pet owners on a raw diet and for pet food businesses, we offered chicken backs, necks, cages, organs and other cuts on request.
• Those products are no longer available. Cericola Farms’ plants have been part of Maple Leaf Foods since 2018 and 2021.